FEE
ARRANGEMENTS
IN
BUSINESS
AND

COMMERCIAL
CASESOccasionally, I
provide a kind of service so frequently that I am able to set a flat fee that is
fair to both me and to the client. This is true for my service in organizing
small corporations and limited liability companies. For most other services, I
have found that clients' individual needs and the complexity of their cases vary
enough so that services are charged at my hourly rate.
I may require a deposit to cover all or most of the expected work. This deposit
will be placed in my attorney trust account. When I bill for the services I have
performed, a few days will be allowed for my client to receive and review the
bill before I pay myself from the trust account.

Sometimes a contingent fee is appropriate. These arrangements will apply in
some litigation or near litigation settings where my client seeks to recover
money damages from a defendant. We agree in advance the percentage amount
of the contingent fee and put it in writing. I have also reached fee agreements
with clients who are alleged to owe a debt to a creditor, where I am paid a
percentage of the amount we achieve in reducing that debt.

We need
to be careful to distinguish my “fees” from what are called “costs” charged by
others, usually in litigation. These costs are things like filing fees, costs
of depositions, expert witness charges, costs for obtaining documents, and the
like, that I may initially advance for the client, but which ultimately must be
reimbursed to me.